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Study: Some Mass. judges acquit nearly all OUI defendants

By Lisa Redmond, lredmond@lowellsun.com

Updated:
11/08/2012 07:12:37 AM EST

BOSTON -- A year-long study of jury-waived drunken-driving cases in the state's district courts revealed that some judges, particularly those in Worcester County, acquit nearly all of the drunken-driving defendants, while jurors across the state only acquit about half the time.

While the study notes there is no "correct'' acquittal rate for any judge, district courts in Worcester County have the highest at 97 percent acquittal rate by judges, according to the study. Middlesex has an acquittal rate of 80 percent with bench trials (a judge decides) and 54 percent with jury trials.

The study by a special counsel appointed by the Supreme Judicial Court in the wake of a Globe Spotlight series also recommended better training for judges on how to handle scientific evidence in all criminal cases.

The SJC said it wanted the probe to determine whether the acquittal rate in drunken driving trials before judges was unusual and excessive. The justices called the investigation "an imperative step to assure the integrity of the judicial branch of state government.''

Special Counsel Jack Cinquegrana, a former federal and state prosecutor, found that when drunken-driving cases go to trial, juries acquit 58 percent of the time, while judges acquit 86 percent of the time. Those numbers were very similar to the Spotlight Team's findings a year ago.

The newspaper used the findings to suggest that the district court system is prone to "judge shopping,'' where defendants and their attorney shop around for a judge with a reputation for leniency.

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In response to the study's results, Mothers Against Driving Drunk (MADD) President Jan Withers said, "The current system in Massachusetts is broken.''

Withers said in a statement, "Not only do the study findings suggest a widespread problem with the Massachusetts judicial system, they show a huge problem with the state's drunk-driving laws in general."

Richardson said, "It works against our efforts to make our streets safe for the public. We look for the courts to support us in these efforts. Judges have a wide range of discretion and power. A critical part of their job is to make sure that the rules of law have been properly applied. They are the people who listen to the facts and base their decisions on what can be proven.''

The study examined 56,966 operating-under- the-influence cases that were heard during a 45-month period between Jan. 1, 2008 and Sept. 30, 2011, and reviewed police reports and docket sheets for hundreds of cases, as well as tape recordings of 50 OUI trials.

The 148-page report also recommended caution in interpreting the statistics. It also indicated there was nothing that suggests there is "any judicial misconduct or any corrupt personal relationship between a judge and a defense attorney."

In Worcester County, the following are the percentages of acquittals for bench trials with a judge and no jury versus a trial with a jury:

* Clinton -- 100 percent (judge)/NA (jury)

* East Brookfield -- 98 percent (judge)/66 percent (jury)

* Fitchburg -- 97 percent (judge)/51 percent (jury)

* Worcester -- 95 percent (judge)/66 percent (jury)

In Middlesex County:

* Ayer -- 78 percent (judge)/50 percent (jury)

* Concord -- 83 percent (judge)/59 percent (jury)

* Lowell -- 86 percent (judge)/58 percent (jury)

* Woburn -- 75 percent (judge)/47 percent (jury)

Lowell District Court Presiding Justice Neil Walker, currently assigned to Somerville District Court, has a 75 percent acquittal rate in bench trials, while his colleague, Judge James McGuinness, who has been out of work since a motorcycle crash more than a year ago, had a 95 percent acquittal rate.

The study recommends four remedies, two of which would need legislative approval.

* The first recommendation is to amend the "per se'' offense so that it provides a blood-alcohol level within a specific time period after the defendant has been stopped for drunken driving, rather than at the time of operation.

* Second recommendation it to close the legal loophole that allows drivers to to avoid a long license suspension after refusing a breath test if they are later acquitted of drunken driving.

* The last two recommendations must be acted on by the judiciary: changing the procedures for jury waiver and judicial training focused on the judge's role as gatekeeper for scientific evidence.

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